


intervention

by ballerinaroy



Series: together or not at all [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Family, Gen, Intervention, Protective Siblings, Siblings, Tough Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23144902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ballerinaroy/pseuds/ballerinaroy
Summary: Frustrated by how Ron has been reacting to the fall out from his new relationship, Ginny and George stage an intervention.
Relationships: Background Hermione Granger/Harry Potter/Ron Weasley
Series: together or not at all [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1632493
Comments: 8
Kudos: 154





	intervention

It was pathetic, the way the three of them had retreated into themselves. Not answering owls was something Ginny could forgive, after all, she’d received her fair share of angry mail, hexes that just narrowly missed hitting her through the post. But it wasn’t just written communication they’d been avoiding.

Saturday pick up matches, drinks, even coming to her own charity match that Hermione herself had helped organize to raise funds for several students who’d been afflicted by lycanthropy and would be starting at Hogwarts soon. A match they’d all sworn up and down they’d be attending.

“I know,” George said with a frown when Ginny shared her frustrations with him. “They just need time.”

“They’ve been back for two weeks.”

“You’ve seen what they’ve been saying about them, they just need some time to recover, let this blow over."

Reluctantly she’d agreed to give them space, time for the next scandal to capture the wizarding world’s attention before she’d say anything only…it hadn’t blown over.

A month back and, although she didn’t take the paper herself, she was still unable to escape rumors about her brother. Never a consistent tale it would oscillate from _haven’t been seen in public for a month_ , _have the flames of romance already died?_ to _rumors swirl about what's going on behind closed doors._

And still Ginny had bit her tongue, lamenting to George, Luna and Neville and whoever else she could trust.

“These things blow over,” they would all say, the phrase that they’d thrown at one another for years. “Give it time.”

But then she couldn’t keep it in any longer. Ron, assigned to Azkaban, had his leg broken and while the recovery had been quick enough, he had yet to return to work.

“I can’t take this anymore,” Ginny told George the second the three of them left the house that Sunday, taking with them the heavy air. “I’m going over there and I’m going to talk some sense into him.”

“Ginny,” said George warningly.

“I’m going,” she said firmly, fixing him with a glare. “Are you coming with me?”

He looked at her pleadingly but relented. “Alright, but only because I don’t want him back in the hospital so soon.”

And so that was how they found themselves the following Wednesday afternoon visiting their dearest brother.

“Ginny!” Ron said in alarm, bolting up from the sofa he’d been half asleep on. “George! What are you doing here? What’s happened?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Ginny said. “We haven’t seen you in ages, thought we might stop by, see the new place.”

She peered around. Aside from the growing collection of empty beer bottles littering the ground around the couch Ron was still occupying, the place felt familiar. Decorated like the last flat the trio had shared.

Ron looked to George as if she’d been lying.

“You used to stop by every other day, thought we might return the favor.” He told Ron who finally looked convinced.

Crookshanks purred, presenting his underside and Ginny reached down to pick up the fluffy cat and took his place, nuzzling her nose against his fur and placing him on her lap as she took his seat.

“Got any beer?” George asked.

“Yeah in the fridge,” Ron replied, gesturing to the archway behind him.

“Brilliant,” George said, depositing himself down onto the sofa.

“Shall I get you one then?” Ron asked, irritated.

“Oh, if you’re up,” George replied cheekily, and Ron made a rather rude hand gesture as he stood, vanishing the bottles he’d collected.

“Ginny?”

“I wouldn’t mind some wine,” she said just to be difficult.

Ron rolled his eyes at her but retreated into the kitchen and after several seconds of clinking and the sound of a wine cork popping he emerged with three drinks.

“Thank you,” Ginny told him, sipping her glass as Ron slumped back into the position they’d found him in. “How’s the leg?”

“Fine,” Ron said shortly.

“Any idea when you’ll be back at work?”

“Said I could go back whenever.”

George and Ginny caught one another’s eyes.

“So?”

“So what?” Ron shrugged.

“When are you going back?” Ginny asked, trying not to let her irritation show.

Ron looked over at her and shrugged once more but didn’t elaborate. Ginny felt her blood begin to boil. For weeks she’d been watching, waiting for them to recover but this.

“I’ve never seen you so pathetic.” The words left her mouth before she knew what she was saying.

“Ginny-“ warned George.

“No,” Ginny said, doubling down. “I’m not just going to sit by and watch you feel sorry for yourself any longer!”

“I’m not sitting around feeling sorry for myself,” Ron answered, rolling his eyes dismissively. “You’ve seen what they’ve been writing about us-“

“No, I haven’t actually because I don’t give my money to publications that print that trash.” She snapped. “And you shouldn’t either.”

“We don’t give them our money,” Ron snarled. “But it doesn’t stop them. I can’t even go to the bloody market without someone approaching me, taking a picture, printing a quote out of context. And I don’t even have it worst. Even if you haven’t read it you hear what they’re saying about Hermione.”

“And so what?” Ginny asked. “Since when have you let what the press is saying change anything?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Leave the flat! Come out for drinks stop moping around and acting like what they say about you matters.”

Ron turned to George, a pleading look on his face. George sighed.

“We tried giving you time, but Ginny’s right. You can’t live like this forever.”

“You two don’t get it.”

“Get what?” Ginny pleaded. “What is it that we don’t understand?”

“They hate us!” Ron snapped, losing his morose demeanor.

“Who?”

“Them,” he gestured wildly. “Everyone! They wouldn’t keep writing about us like they do if it wasn’t what people were thinking.”

“And since when have you given a shit about what the world thought?”

Ginny expected his temper to rise, for him to keep shouting, to rise to his feet and scream at her. It’s why she’d come for after all, for a fight. But to her utter disappointment, Ron deflated, falling back into his seat and giving her a pathetic glare as the spark of rage disappeared in an instant.

“Well clearly we do or we’d never’ve found ourselves in this mess at all.”

It was Ginny’s turn to look at George, confused.

“What’s going on?” George asked in his calm voice.

Ron took a long moment, picking at the paper label on his own bottle and looking upset.

“If it had just been up to us then Hermione and I never would have gotten engaged,” Ron said quietly, still not looking at them. “Not when we did. But we saw how happy it made everyone and once it had started we couldn’t stop it.”

“Ron,” Ginny tried and he shook his head.

“I know you saw it too, looking back all those little comments you made make sense,” Ron told her. “But you can’t unring a bell. I went from happily dating to mum encouraging me to buy a ring to proposing within weeks. It’s not what we wanted but there was this enormous pressure to make everyone happy.”

“But you didn’t have to,” Ginny pleaded even though the time was long past.

Ron looked at her sadly. “You were there, the day I bought it. It was the first time I could remember seeing mum really smile since Fred…”

There was a sudden lump in her throat and all three siblings had to look away for a moment. When they were finally able to regain their composure Ron went on.

“As much as we’d like to say it doesn’t matter, that people can think what they want to, it does. Hermione’s worked on werewolf initiatives for years and now she can’t even sign her name on a letter without fear it’ll be thrown away. Harry’s stuck pouring through old files because Gawain’s too afraid to send him out in the field and I—don’t get me wrong I’m enjoying the work but Azkaban is no place for happy thoughts. So yeah, I’m taking advantage of the fact that I broke my leg and working from home for as long as possible.”

“That’s awful,” Ginny whispered.

“We can’t even go through our own mail, Ginny, we’re bloody Aurors and have to send it off to be sorted through before we can read it.” He let out a long sigh. “I’m tired, Ginny. I’m tired of the work and the gossip that follows us all around. I’m tired of the photos and Rita bloody Skeeter. I’m tired of being punished for daring to choose what I wanted for once.”

“So then stop punishing yourself.”

It was George that spoke and they both turned to him. Ron was looking at him desperately as if he would spill some secret that would make it all better.

“It’s not going to go away, not for a while because believe me this is the most interesting news we’ve had in months.”

Ron snorted but didn’t look angry.

“But they’re going to keep taking pictures of you, they’re going to keep writing about you no matter what you do.” George finished.

“It’s easier this way.”

“Is it?” Ginny asked. “Because you’ve been trying it for weeks and this is the most pathetic that I’ve ever seen you. Try something new, it can’t make things worse.”

He looked half convinced.

“Come out with us again.” Ginny pleaded. “Everyone’s worried about you. And Seamus finally convinced Clarissa to go on a date-“

“What?” Ron asked, astonished. “How did that happen?”

“I couldn’t do the story justice,” Ginny replied and he grinned at her. “Please, just come for drinks tomorrow. We won’t talk about it, or we can spend the whole night plotting revenge, but if you’re going to be _disgraced former heroes of the wizarding world_ then you might as well be disgraced former heroes with friends.”

He gave in with a sigh. “Yeah alright, a drink won’t hurt.”

She smiled at him, feeling much better and being to feel a twinge of guilt from being so harsh.

“Thought you didn’t read the papers,” Ron quipped looking much more like himself. “ _Disgraced former heroes._ ”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how someone becomes a former hero anyway.”

“Yeah, could you give us some tips?” George asked. “The store could do with some publicity and being declared a _former_ _hero_ clearly does the trick.”


End file.
